Sombra's Bat

The guards are ready. There are only a few minutes until the attack. Everypony is experiencing some degree of nervousness. Chrysalis is worried about her family. The troops are concerned because of the risks involved and because they do not want to use lethal force. I am only nervous because Sombra is being so quiet. He has barely spoken all morning.

"Thoughts?" I ask him as we wait for Chrysalis to signal that her guards are ready.

"So many things could go wrong. Why are we doing this again?"

"We need to cut the guards and the Elements of Harmony off from the rest of Equestria. If they can't contact each other, they can't call in more forces, and we can just take them all in one fell swoop. We never did anything to deserve being surrounded by an army that probably totals more than a thousand ponies, so I don't think there's anything wrong with doing this. Besides, Sparkle is the apple of Celestia's eye, just like I'm the crystal berry of your eye." I give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "If we capture her, she's our bargaining power."

"I see. However, the Element Bearers have such a large amount of power that they could cause some serious damage to our plans. If they defeat our guards and tell Celestia, we are, well... toast."

"What you might forget is that the actual Elements of Harmony are six little magic stones, and they have to have the stones to hurt us."

"You are suggesting that Celestia didn't give them the Elements."

"She might have given them the Elements, but if she did, they'll be in there somewhere. We could easily swoop in and take them. If there are no Elements then there isn't a problem."

"Did you give the order for the guards to look for them?"

"I said that they should only recover the Elements if they had enough time."

"Good." He suddenly turns very quiet.

"Sombra? Are you ok?"

"Yes."

This alerts me to the truth. "What is with the one-word answers?"

"Nothing."

"You can explain what's on your mind, you know."

"Guilt. Anger. Sorrow. The amount of pressure we have both been through. This is only the beginning of the war, and wars usually get a hundred times worse than this. I keep asking myself, why us? Then I remember that I am deserving of all this. I destroyed the life of an innocent mare. I turned my kingdom into a prison and my subjects into slaves. Now I am having to take part in the first real war Equestria has been involved in for a thousand years. All I hope is that you are not blamed for my crimes if Celestia beats us."

"Crimes? You made mistakes. Everypony makes mistakes, even leaders. Look at how much Sunbutt has screwed up."

"You say that like they are simple things that can be sorted out with a simple apology, like a fight in the school playground. I shaped the lives of those ponies out there in a bad way. I can never change that."

"But you shouldn't have to! Sombra, we are together because you have carried a lot on your shoulders. Rather than being forced into the light that shines on us from the sun, you need to recognise the light that shines in you. Yes, you have made mistakes, but I am helping you to correct them. Look at the progress we have made with the Crystal Guard. The guards are free, but they are still loyal to you, because they see that you are their king. The ponies of the Crystal Empire now wave at you when they see you, rather than cowering away. Think about the reasons why you turned to the darkness. You saw it as the only possible route out of your situation at the time. There was no other way to turn. Now we've found a better path that we're walking down together."

"I - I can't - I disagree. You have never had to do what I had to do."

"I'm sure Amoré would forgive you if she saw you now and how much you have changed. Look at what happened last week. We went from fighting to making a better choice for everypony, and it hasn't gone unnoticed. You can feel your remorse, and then learn from it. Sunbutt hasn't even made it that far yet."

"I suppose. Thank you, Moonlight."

A flame appears in the room. "Old Chryssie's signal. We should go to where all of the guards are."

We teleport to an area on the edge of the Crystal Empire. Many changelings and Crystal Guards are gathered there. I fly above them all and look to see what the Solar Guards from Equestria think. They have all gathered outside and are clearly waiting for something to happen. So far, we only appear to be having a discussion.

"Go," orders Chrysalis. I watch as Celestia's troops react to the sudden attack. Most of the combat is hoof-to-hoof. The ponies move around each other and fight in such a way that it looks like a frenzied dance. The magical attacks begin, and our own guards struggle valiantly to dodge the blasts. Most of the time, they succeed and trick the unicorns. A fanged smile creeps onto my lips as the guards from Queen's start charging towards the skirmish.

I teleport to the Hive and give the order for the second group of guards to start their attack on Queen's. Some of them split off from the main group to go after ponies that are occupying nearby tents, but there are still a hundred guards or so at the main scene of the fight. A few ponies sneak into the main tent, and a few sparks fly out of the makeshift door, accompanied by a cacophony of crackling noises. Everything is going well; whatever was in that tent has been destroyed, the Element Bearers have not intervened and...

Sonic Rainboom.

I am blasted out of the sky by the visible rainbow shock wave. That would be Rainbow Dash, then. The Element Bearers have their little trinkets with them, and hand them to one of their guards, realising too late that it is actually a disguised changeling. There are only six of them, but they move quickly. Eventually they recover the Elements, but I am just pleased that they were shocked. Then, I spy an opportunity. Sparkle carries the gems in a box balanced on her back. She sprints for another tent further away from the skirmishes, and I zoom towards her, only to be intercepted by the pink earth pony.

"Hiya!" she chirrups, bouncing into the air.

"Get out of my way!" I shout.

"Nuh-uh. These sparkly crystals belong to us. I have sprinkles, though." She shakes a little on the ground and dashes out of the way.

They sizzle, and I jump out of the way just before they explode. It isn't anywhere near enough to seriously injure a pony, but could cause a minor burn. This reminds me of the burning cold in my hooves. Most of this fight has been outside of the protection spell around the Crystal Empire, and I am surely not the only one who has been affected by the weather. I circle around to see what has happened in the seconds wasted by the confrontation with Pinkie Pie - I'm sure that's her name - and am shocked by what I see. The Solar Guards have badly injured the Crystal Guards, and my stomach lurches as I realise that there have been a couple of fatalities on our side. I told our guards to take it easy, but Celestia clearly has said nothing of the sort, as the once pure white snow is stained with red in places. I yell the order to retreat and most of the guards return to the safety of the Empire. Those who do not are in no position to do so. Dead, dying or captured.

Reluctantly, I return to where Sombra and Chrysalis are stood and report my findings.

"Have any changelings been killed?" Chrysalis demands. I shake my head; those who had disguised themselves as ponies would have changed back if they were seriously injured.

"It looks like our Sun Princess is serious then," Sombra groans. He punches a wall.

"What is with Celestia? Damn you, Sunbutt!" I screech. Sombra, Chrysalis and I may have bickered amongst ourselves, but we share the same sense of pain at the severity of the situation. None of us want to be in this, but we have all been thrown in the same boat, and it is going to sink if we do nothing. "I should never have suggested that. What did I do? I sent some of our guards out there to their doom. It's my fault."

"I did not object to it, Moonlight," Chrysalis reminds me, "and neither did King Sombra. We did not expect this to happen. Leaders make many tough decisions. My family were starved of love for many years before we came here. Now, though, we do not have to starve, because you are willing to share. Every cloud has a silver lining."

"I suppose, but why? Why is Celestia doing this?!"

"Because she knows that we will react this way," Sombra tells me, not hiding the pain in his voice. "She knows that we will either be indifferent and our ponies will revolt, or we will feel pain. Either way, she wins."

"How do we stop her from winning?" The desperation in my own voice makes me sound like a foal, but I couldn't care less.

"By hitting back stronger and harder."

He changes to his shadow form, and travels across the barrier. The sun is blocked out completely, which I am infinitely grateful for. I hear him say, "You have two days to leave before we force you to." His voice is like thunder.

He returns, then changes back into a pony and averts my gaze.

"It is absolutely horrible out there," he tells me. "I have never sent my soldiers to a proper war. It's worse that they are choosing to go, and they aren't under mind control. They know they are waltzing towards death's door."

"What do we do?" I ask nopony in particular.

"Speak to Luna, of course. One princess of three is on our side. She will know what to do," suggests Chrysalis.

"I suppose." It isn't quite a plan, but it's something we can work on. Six hours until dusk. Six hours until we speak to her.